Earl Martinez, 28, of Beaverton, Ore. has taken to the streets looking for a kidney donor.
Martinez, who has been battling a hereditary kidney disorder since birth, holds up a sign that reads ‘Need Kidney Donor’ along the side of the road in search of the vital organ that will save his life, KOIN reports.
“I have a wife and two beautiful daughters that I hope [to] spend many more years with,” Martinez wrote on a Facebook page he created, which encourages others to become organ donors. “Please think about being a organ donor in life and after you pass, healthy organs can save many lives.”
Martinez told KOIN that his insurance will cover costs on both sides and the donor won't have to pay any expenses.
For the past 18 months, Martinez, who has Alport Syndrome, has been receiving dialysis three times a week for four hours a day, he describes on his Facebook page. Since his disorder is hereditary, family members can't donate and the average wait time for a kidney of his blood type, which is O, is two to three years, KOIN reports.
Martinez is currently one of 753 Oregon kidney patients registered on a waiting list, according data from United Network for Organ Sharing.
According to data from the UNOS, there was an 18.8 percent decrease in kidney donations from living donors between 2011 and 2012. In Martinez’s home state of Oregon, living donors have been steadily declining since 2008. Research earlier this year suggested obesity may be partly to blame for the decline, ABC reported.
How to help: Donations can be made to Earl Martinez's campaign via PayPal. Learn more here.
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